Denver Nuggets team members tour Black American West Museum in Five Points

Denver Nuggets forward Peyton Watson and team announcer Kyle Speller were among several employees, who visited the Black American West Museum in Five Points on Friday as part of Black History Month. 

Watson and other members of team ownership, Kroenke Sports and Entertainment, spent more than an hour walking through the halls of the museum, guided by museum volunteers. 

"I think it is so important to show that people come from literal nothing, worked as much as they could, they came out here and made a legacy for themselves and we get to learn about it," Watson said. 

The volunteers in the museum could speak from personal experience about many of the historic aspects of Black Coloradans, as they were educated on their own family's lineage. 

However, many others who are featured in the museum are trailblazers among early Black Coloradans.

"I learned today that it was a Black man who performed the first open heart surgery," Watson said. "I'm not even from Denver, I'm from Long Beach. But, coming here and learning some more about the Black history here where I am playing means the world to me. I want to be tied into this community and learn as much as I can."

From serious historical moments to funny handshakes of old times, Watson said he hoped people of all generations and backgrounds would take the time to visit the museum and learn about Colorado's Black community history. 

"If we continue to preserve that knowledge and pass it down the youth will know these things growing up and they will be more educated," Watson said. "Get off social media and come to places like this. Knowledge is power, and this is the most enlightening thing I could have done during Black History Month. It has really left an impression on me and I can't wait to tell people about it."